Wednesday, July 22, 2009

TNR Report

A night of firsts. First TNR for Paddy since he left us for greener--or at least hillier--pastures just over a year ago. Nice to have him back. We expect a fine showing at 9 Mile. We will be following via the interwebs.

Tom K also made his first appearance of the year. It seems that the enemy known as work has conspired to force him to forgo the regular highlight of the week, not to mention all the MUERTO races so far. That is why the TNR regulars among us don't really work. We just pretend. It's not easy. But after a while, you pick up a few tricks.

And Dallas showed up for his very first TNR. Ever. Fittingly, he was wearing a shirt that reminded us why we love him.



It was, as he said, his Christmas present. Being at the ride, that is. Not the sweet shirt. Though that was a present too. Hopefully Christmas next year will send him our way once again.

As for the ride itself, we stood around some and waited for the Secretary to show up. Paddy brought treats from Lethbridge to help pass the time.



Eventually, we managed to ride over to check out the status of the Pinedale Project. It has a roof and is beginning cast a striking presence on the streetscape with its bold second floor. It took us a while to digest it all. So we stood around some more. Fortunately, this allowed Colin time to get his act together so that he could join us for the rest of the ride.



From there, a quick lap of Whittier seemed in order. As did a trip to our favourite parking garage. Really. We actually did ride our bikes last night. Some of us even broke out into a light sweat.

Luc and Jonny M supplied the pizza. And Dallas was kept the conversation humming along at a steady pace. And, for the first time in a long, long time, the Secretary was not among the last to leave. This is a startling development. We will have to keep an eye on it. Nevertheless, much awesomeness was once again spread throughout the sad city streets.

3 comments:

tenacious v said...

I am sad that I was unable to attend last nights ride or be at the race last weekend. Sounds like good times. I did manage to get out and ride hard for two hours today on Montreal's incredible bike trails. Racing around the grand prix race track was way cool, as was crossing the St Lawrence on incredibly long cycling bridges(I know, I sound like a little kid, but cycling does that to me). Montreal is light years ahead of Wpg in terms of cycling infrastructure. Sigh! If our travel plans stay the same I should be back in Wpg for the next tnr. Till then.

Tom K said...

Thanks for letting me join your TNR.
It was just what "the doctor ordered" and I was both relaxed and pumped up about my riding after the night out!
Here's a link to my post on our TrainingCoop msg board:
http://thetrainingcoop.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=3584402
Thanks for the beer Paddy and the pizza Luc & Jonny

Couldn't make the Grass Track race tonight because I am flying way up north soon to continue a search for a missing helo ... the stars only aligned for one night and not for a race S#&%!!

Vic: I could not agree with you more about the cycling infrastructure in Montreal. Had a chance to check it out last fall, visiting our son who is in university there and rides everywhere on all the bike paths and dedicated lanes.
Here's what I found:
http://thetrainingcoop.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=3035514
We have a long way to go here in Wpg!

The Dark Lord said...

Vic, I hope you are taking some pictures. Looking forward to the full report.